Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 137 / Wednesday, July 21, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 38415 

does not report his or her action to the 

Chief Postal Inspector under the 

requirements of this section, or whose 

action is determined after investigation 

not to have been authorized, is subject 

to disciplinary action or criminal 

prosecution or both. 

Ruth Stevenson, 

Chief Counsel, Ethics & Legal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15371 Filed 7–20–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 300 

[Docket No. 210415–0082; RTID 0648– 

XB187] 

Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch 

Sharing Plan; Inseason Action 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Temporary rule; inseason 

adjustment; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: This document announces 

additional season dates for the 

Washington North Coast and Puget 

Sound Pacific halibut recreational 

fisheries in the International Pacific 

Halibut Commission’s regulatory Area 

2A off Washington, Oregon, and 

California. This action is intended to 

conserve Pacific halibut and provide 

angler opportunity where available. 

DATES: This action is effective July 16, 

2021, through September 30, 2021. 

Submit comments on or before August 

5, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by NOAA–NMFS–2020–0157, 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAANMFS-2020-0157, click the ‘‘Comment’’ 

icon, complete the required fields, and 

enter or attach your comments. 

• Mail: Submit written comments to 

Barry Thom, c/o Kathryn Blair, West 

Coast Region, NMFS, 1201 NE Lloyd 

Blvd., Suite 1100, Portland, OR 97232. 

Instructions: NMFS may not consider 

comments if they are sent by any other 

method, to any other address or 

individual, or received after the 

comment period ends. All comments 

received are a part of the public record 

and NMFS will post them for public 

viewing on www.regulations.gov 

without change. All personal identifying 

information (e.g., name, address, etc.), 

confidential business information, or 

otherwise sensitive information 

submitted voluntarily by the sender is 

publicly accessible. NMFS will accept 

anonymous comments (enter ‘‘N/A’’ in 

the required fields if you wish to remain 

anonymous). 

Docket: This rule is accessible via the 

internet at the Office of the Federal 

Register website at https://

www.federalregister.gov/. Background 

information and documents are 

available at the NOAA Fisheries website 

at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/ 

action/2021-pacific-halibut-catchsharing-plan and at the Council’s 

website at http://www.pcouncil.org. 

Other comments received may be 

accessed through www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kathryn Blair, phone: 503–231–6858, 

fax: 503–231–6893, or email: 

kathryn.blair@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 

21, 2021, NMFS published a final rule 

implementing the Pacific halibut Area 

2A Catch Sharing Plan and recreational 

(sport) management measures for 2021 

(86 FR 20638), as authorized by the 

Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 

U.S.C. 773–773(k)). The 2021 Catch 

Sharing Plan provides a recommended 

framework for NMFS’ annual 

management measures and subarea 

allocations based on the 2021 Area 2A 

Pacific halibut catch limit of 1,510,000 

pounds (lb) (684.9 metric tons (mt)). 

These Pacific halibut management 

measures include recreational fishery 

season dates and subarea allocations. 

Federal regulations at 50 CFR 

300.63(c), ‘‘Flexible Inseason 

Management Provisions for Sport 

Halibut Fisheries in Area 2A,’’ allow the 

NMFS’ Regional Administrator, after 

consultation with the Chairman of the 

Pacific Fishery Management Council 

(Council), the Executive Director of the 

International Pacific Halibut 

Commission (IPHC), and the Fisheries 

Directors of the affected states, or their 

designees, to modify annual regulations 

during the season. These inseason 

provisions allow the Regional 

Administrator to modify sport fishing 

periods, bag limits, size limits, days per 

calendar week, and subarea quotas, if it 

is determined it is necessary to meet the 

allocation objectives and the action will 

not result in exceeding the catch limit. 

NMFS has determined that, due to 

lower than expected landings in 

portions of Washington, inseason action 

to modify the 2021 annual regulations is 

warranted at this time to help ensure the 

Area 2A allocations as published in the 

final rule (86 FR 20638; April 21, 2021) 

are met. As stated above, inseason 

modification of the fishing season is 

authorized by Federal regulations at 50 

CFR 300.63(c). After a virtual 

consultation with IPHC, the Council, 

and the Washington Department of Fish 

and Wildlife (WDFW) on June 4, 2021, 

and further consultation with WDFW, 

NMFS determined the following 

inseason action is necessary to meet the 

management objective of attaining the 

subarea allocations, and are consistent 

with the inseason management 

provisions allowing for the modification 

of sport fishing periods and sport 

fishing days per calendar week. Notice 

of these additional dates and closure of 

the fisheries will also be announced on 

the NMFS hotline at 206–526–6667 or 

800–662–9825. 

Inseason Action 

Description of the action: This 

inseason action implements up to 17 

additional fishing dates for the Puget 

Sound and North Coast subareas in the 

state of Washington during the 2021 

recreational fishery. 

Reason for the action: The purpose of 

this inseason action is to provide 

additional opportunity for anglers in 

Washington’s Puget Sound and North 

Coast subareas to achieve the respective 

subarea allocations without exceeding 

them. NMFS has determined that these 

additional dates are warranted due to 

much lower than expected landings 

through mid-June 2021, and the 

expectation that a substantial amount of 

subarea allocation will go unharvested 

without additional fishing dates. As of 

June 10, the North Coast subarea has 

harvested 34,229 lbs of the 128,928 lb 

(58.5 mt) (27 percent) subarea allocation 

and the Puget Sound subarea has 

harvested 37,409 lbs of the 78,291 lbs 

(35.5 mt) (48 percent) subarea 

allocation. For reference, in 2018 and 

2019, the North Coast subarea either 

was close to or had attained the 

available recreational quota by the end 

of June. Without additional fishing days, 

the season dates implemented in the 

April 21, 2021 (86 FR 20638) final rule 

would likely result in substantial 

unharvested quota in these two 

subareas. 

In order for anglers to have the 

opportunity to achieve the subarea 

allocations, and with little risk of the 

quota being exceeded, WDFW requested 

NMFS implement additional season 

dates for participants in the Puget 

Sound and North Coast subareas. 

Therefore, through this action NMFS is 

announcing new season dates in August 

and September that were not previously 

implemented in the April 21, 2021 final 

rule (86 FR 20638). Specifically, the 

additional season dates for the Puget 


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38416 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 137 / Wednesday, July 21, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

Sound and North Coast subareas are 

August 19–21, 26–28; September 2–4, 

9–11, 16–18, and 23–24. WDFW 

recommended these dates to NMFS after 

consultation with their stakeholders. 

These dates were determined in 

consultation with WDFW, the Council, 

and IPHC. Notice of these and potential 

additional dates and closure of the 

fisheries will also be announced on the 

NMFS hotline at 206–526–6667 or 800– 

662–9825. 

Weekly quota monitoring reports for 

the recreational fisheries in Washington, 

Oregon, and California are available on 

their respective state Fish and Wildlife 

agency websites. NMFS and the IPHC 

will continue to monitor recreational 

catch obtained via state sampling 

procedures. 

Classification 

NMFS issues this action pursuant to 

the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 

1982. This action is taken under the 

regulatory authority at 50 CFR 300.63(c), 

and is exempt from review under 

Executive Order 12866. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B), 

there is good cause to waive prior notice 

and an opportunity for public comment 

on this action, as notice and comment 

would be impracticable and contrary to 

the public interest. WDFW provided 

updated landings data to NMFS on June 

10, 2021, and requested additional 

fishing dates be added before the close 

of the recreational halibut fishery on 

September 30, 2021, as the fishery 

participants in the North Coast and 

Puget Sound subareas have only caught 

35 percent of the two areas’ combined 

allocation. NMFS uses fishing rates from 

previous years to determine the number 

of recreational fishing dates needed to 

attain subarea allocations. The level of 

attainment of the allocation for 2021 is 

much lower than past years for this 

same point in time, and was not 

anticipated when the 2021 final rule 

setting the 2021 recreational fishery 

season dates was developed. This action 

should be implemented as soon as 

possible to allow fishery participants to 

take advantage of the additional fishing 

dates prior to the end of the season. As 

the fishery closes on September 30, 

2021, implementing this action through 

proposed and final rulemaking would 

limit the benefit this action would 

provide to fishery participants. Without 

implementation of additional season 

dates, the Puget Sound and North Coast 

subareas would not harvest their full 

subarea allocations, limiting economic 

benefits to the participants and not 

meeting the goals of the Catch Share 

Plan and the 2021 management 

measures. It is necessary that this 

rulemaking be implemented in a timely 

manner so that planning for these new 

fishing days can take place, and for 

business and personal decision making 

by the regulated public impacted by this 

action, which includes recreational 

charter fishing operations, associated 

port businesses, and private anglers who 

do not live near the coastal access 

points for this fishery, among others. To 

ensure the regulated public is fully 

aware of this action, notice of this 

regulatory action will also be provided 

to anglers through a telephone hotline, 

news release, and by the relevant state 

fish and wildlife agencies. NMFS will 

receive public comments for 15 days 

after publication of this action, in 

accordance with 50 CFR 300.63(c)(4)(ii). 

No aspect of this action is controversial, 

and changes of this nature were 

anticipated in the process described in 

regulations at 50 CFR 300.63(c). 

For the reasons discussed above, there 

is also good cause under 5 U.S.C. 

553(d)(3) to waive the 30-day delay in 

effective date and make this action 

effective immediately upon filing, as a 

delay in effectiveness of this action 

would constrain fishing opportunity 

and be inconsistent with the goals of the 

Catch Sharing Plan and current 

management measures, as well as 

potentially limit the economic 

opportunity intended by this rule to the 

associated fishing communities. NMFS 

regulations allow the Regional 

Administrator to modify sport fishing 

periods, bag limits, size limits, days per 

calendar week, and subarea quotas, 

provided that the action allows 

allocation objectives to be met and will 

not result in exceeding the catch limit 

for the subarea. NMFS recently received 

information on the progress of landings 

in the recreational fisheries in 

Washington subareas, indicating 

additional dates should be added to the 

fishery to ensure optimal and 

sustainable harvest of the quota. As 

stated above, it is in the public interest 

that this action is not delayed, because 

a delay in the effectiveness of these new 

dates would not allow the allocation 

objectives of this fishery to be met. 

Dated: July 15, 2021. 

Jennifer M. Wallace, 

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable 

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2021–15451 Filed 7–16–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 622 

[Docket No. 210713–0147] 

RIN 0648–BK01 

Fisheries of the Caribbean, Gulf of 

Mexico, and South Atlantic; Reef Fish 

Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico; 

Framework Action 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NMFS is implementing 

management measures described in a 

framework action to the Fishery 

Management Plan for the Reef Fish 

Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (Reef 

Fish FMP), as prepared and submitted 

by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery 

Management Council (Council). This 

final rule will prohibit certain fishing 

activities and, with one exception, the 

possession of Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef 

fish within the Madison-Swanson and 

Steamboat Lumps Marine Protected 

Areas (MPAs). The purpose of this final 

rule is to protect spawning aggregations 

of mature reef fish species by reducing 

the potential for illegal fishing activities 

within these MPAs. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

August 20, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of this 

framework action to the FMP for the 

Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of 

Mexico may be obtained from 

www.regulations.gov or from the NMFS 

Southeast Regional Office website at 

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/ 

modification-fishing-access-easterngulf-mexico-marine-protected-areas. 

The framework action includes an 

environmental assessment, regulatory 

impact review, and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act (RFA) analysis. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rich 

Malinowski, NMFS Southeast Regional 

Office, telephone: 727–824–5305, or 

email: rich.malinowski@noaa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS and 

the Council manage the reef fish fishery 

under the Reef Fish FMP. The Reef Fish 

FMP was prepared by the Council and 

is implemented by NMFS through 

regulations at 50 CFR part 622 under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) (16 U.S.C. 

1801 et seq.). 


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